Charizard's Story
by Dragoness
Summary: Wrote this fic a long while back...First one I published in fact! Anyways, for a summary, umm...Charizard decides to REALLY do whatever it wants.
1. Chapter 1

"Go! Charizard!"

Ash threw his Pokéball, and Charizard appeared.

"Go, Scyther!"

"All right, Charizard, I'm counting on you!"

Charizard heard him, but scoffed. It didn't have any reason to listen to that pathetic boy who dared to call himself its trainer. Charizard decided to take a snooze.

"Charizard!!" Ash called out desperately, "Please! You _have_ to battle! Please?"

Charizard ignored his pleas and began to enjoy its nap.

"Your Charizard isn't battling," called out Ash's opponent, "Scyther is the winner."

"Hold on! It's just…using its Rest attack! It'll battle…I know it will…"

"Pika…" Pikachu said in pity.

"Charizard! Use your Slash attack!"

Charizard didn't do anything.

"This will be too easy, Scyther. Swift attack!"

"Scyytherrrrrrr!!!"

It rapidly churned its blades to create dozens of sharp yellow stars that headed straight for Charizard.

"Charizard! Get up! Get up, please! You're gonna get hurt!"

Charizard opened its eyes and saw the stars coming towards it. It sat up and used its wing to deflect them.

"Charizard! You decided to battle for me! Great! Use Flamethrower!"

Charizard blew smoke out of its nostrils and crossed its arms.

"Uh-! Charizard! You have to!"

"Wanna give up, kid?" asked the other trainer.

"Urgh…No way! Charizard!"

Charizard looked back at him with one eye. What did that kid want now? Charizard gazed up at the sky. What? It couldn't be…

"Ch-Arrr!"

"Re-! Huh?" said Ash.

Charizard spread its wings and started flapping them. It gained lift, then began to soar higher and higher.

"Charizard!! Where do you think you're going?"

"Pikapi!!"

Charizard blocked out their distant cries. It was intent on following what it had seen in the sky.

"Wow! That is the most disobedient Pokémon I've ever seen!" said Ash's opponent.

Ash glared at him. "That's not funny." He held out Charizard's Pokéball. "Charizard! Return!" 

A beam of red light shot out, but Charizard was too far away.

"No! Come back!" he yelled in alarm, "CHARIZARD!!!!"


	2. Chapters 1-5

Author's Note: Yes, I admit my chapters are pretty short, so I combined them. But I like the way they were divided, so they're all still the same length individually. Thanx to Proto D's Volumes of Stupidity for giving me the idea of what to do with all these loose chapters! 

** **

**Charizard's Story**

**Chapter 1**

"Go! Charizard!"

Ash threw his Pokéball, and Charizard appeared.

"Go, Scyther!"

"All right, Charizard, I'm counting on you!"

Charizard heard him, but scoffed. It didn't have any reason to listen to that pathetic boy who dared to call himself its trainer. Charizard decided to take a snooze.

"Charizard!!" Ash called out desperately, "Please! You _have_ to battle! Please?"

Charizard ignored his pleas and began to enjoy its nap.

"Your Charizard isn't battling," called out Ash's opponent, "Scyther is the winner."

"Hold on! It's just…using its Rest attack! It'll battle…I know it will…"

"Pika…" Pikachu said in pity.

"Charizard! Use your Slash attack!"

Charizard didn't do anything.

"This will be too easy, Scyther. Swift attack!"

"Scyytherrrrrrr!!!"

It rapidly churned its blades to create dozens of sharp yellow stars that headed straight for Charizard.

"Charizard! Get up! Get up, please! You're gonna get hurt!"

Charizard opened its eyes and saw the stars coming towards it. It sat up and used its wing to absorb them.

"Charizard! You decided to battle for me! Great! Use Flamethrower!"

Charizard blew smoke out of its nostrils and crossed its arms.

"Uh-! Charizard! You have to!"

"Wanna give up, kid?" asked the other trainer.

"Urgh…No way! Charizard!"

Charizard looked back at him with one eye. What did that kid want now? Charizard gazed up at the sky. What? It couldn't be…

"Ch-Arrr!"

"Ret-! Huh?" said Ash.

Charizard spread its wings and started flapping them. It gained lift, then began to soar higher and higher.

"Charizard!! Where do you think you're going?"

"Pikapi!!"

Charizard blocked out their distant cries. It was intent on following what it had seen in the sky.

"Wow! That is the most disobedient Pokémon I've ever seen!" said Ash's opponent.

Ash glared at him. "That's not funny." He held out Charizard's Pokéball. "Charizard! Return!" 

A beam of red light shot out, but Charizard was too far away.

"No! Come back!" he yelled in alarm, "CHARIZARD!!!!"

**Charizard's Story**

**Chapter 2**

Ash watched helplessly as Charizard faded into the distance. He turned to his opponent, who had just finished calling back his Scyther.

"You!" he shouted, "This is all your fault!"

"What are you talking about? It's not my fault that you're a pathetic Pokémon trainer. Now I must go. I can't waste my time with people who can't even keep their Pokémon in a battle. Goodbye."

"Urrghh…"

Ash angrily watched him go. Misty stood up.

"Gee, I always knew Charizard wasn't the most obedient Pokémon, but I never thought it would run away."

"It didn't run away!" Ash yelled.

Misty looked at him sadly. "Then what did it do?"

"It…it……It flew! So there."

"Ash…" Brock began.

"I don't have time for that!" Ash yelled at Brock, "I have to go get Charizard back. Are you guys coming or not?"

Misty and Brock exchanged glances. In unison, they said, "We're coming."

**Charizard's Story**

**Chapter 3**

They'd been walking for a long time, and the group was losing hope.

"Ash, I don't see Charizard anywhere," Misty said wearily, "Can't we at least rest for a little while?"

"No! I'm not stopping until I find Charizard!" snapped Ash.

"…He's getting a little touchy, isn't he?" Misty whispered to Brock.

"Having your Pokémon run away from you is a big embarrassment for anyone," he replied.

"Pi, ka…" Pikachu sighed. At this rate, Ash was never going to stop, or find Charizard.

Ash knew that Charizard couldn't have just flown off for no reason. There must have been something…something that made it want to go somewhere…It couldn't have been his fault…It just couldn't have been…

"Ash…Do you realize that this path is starting to look like a mountain trail?" Misty asked.

"So?" he countered.

"Well…I don't really feel like mountain climbing right now…Maybe we should stop."

Ash spun around. There was a dangerous light in his eyes.

"Then stop! I never said you had to come! You can go straight back down if you want, and I won't even think twice about it! So stop complaining!" With that, he turned around again and continued up the path.

Misty was stunned. She had made Ash mad a lot of times before, but never like this.

Brock took a step forward, then stopped. "He didn't really mean that, Misty."

"Huh?…I…I know that!…Hmph. Maybe I WILL go back down. That'll teach him…Stuck up little brat…"

"……Do what you want…but…_I'll _care if you decide not to come with us."

Misty hesitated before turning around and going back the way they had come.

Brock watched her go, and shook his head sadly. He quickened his pace to catch up with Ash.

"Ash," he panted when he did, "Misty left."

"Pika!?"

"Good for her," Ash muttered.

"…Ash…Don't you even care?"

"No. I already told you, you guys didn't have to come. This is my problem, and I'm gonna solve it. You don't have to help me."

Brock stopped walking.

"Are you sure?"

"Uh-huh," said Ash, not stopping or looking back.

Brock gazed down at path.

"I hate to do this, Ash, but if you're going to be like this, then I don't have any reason to help you."

"I don't care."

"Bye, Ash."

Ash didn't reply.

Without another word, Brock followed after Misty.

"Pika! Pika, pi!" Pikachu cried after him, but it still clung to Ash.

"…Thanks Pikachu. With your help, I know we'll find Charizard."

"Chu…"

**Charizard's Story**

**Chapter 4**

** **

Misty walked down the street towards the Pokémon Center, holding Togepi in her arms.

"Misty! Misty!! Hey! Wait up!"

Misty turned around to see who was calling her. It was Brock. He ran towards her and finally stopped when he reached her.

"Hey, Brock. What a surprise to see you here," she greeted him.

"Hi…" He was panting from his sprint. "I…decided that…there was really no reason…for me to…go with…Ash…"

"Hm. Serves him right."

"I don't know what happened. I guess he was a little more upset that I thought."

"Well, I was going to go to the Pokémon Center and find a good place to just sit down for a while."

"Yeah…That sounds like a good idea."

Together, they walked to the Pokémon Center.

"You know, now that I think about it, we never really had any good reason to follow him around anyway," said Misty.

"Huh?"

"I mean…What makes him so special, anyway? Why'd we follow him all over the world? Not for the time of day, right?"

"…Well, I know you were following him because he owes you a bike."

"Huh? Oh no! You're right! If something happens to that kid, how is he gonna pay me back!?"

Brock chuckled. "Don't worry. Ash can take care of himself. Otherwise, I would've kept going just to make sure."

Just then, they were stopped by a man in really tacky clothes.

"Hellooo tourists!" he announced far too loudly, "And may I interest you in a FREE brochure of Rouge Town sites?"

"Uh…Sorry," said Misty, "We're not tourists."

"Ah! That's what they all say." Then he laughed loudly and heartily. He shoved some brochures into their hands. "Enjoy your stay! Rouge Town always greets visitors with open arms!" With that declared, he gave them a big hug, then dashed off to stop another wandering group.

"That…was really weird," said Misty.

"Agreed," said Brock, "Shall we go inside the Pokémon Center before someone else tries to give us something?"

"Definitely."

They went inside, entered the cafeteria section, found a booth, and sat down. Brock opened up one of the brochures.

"Shouldn't you be looking at the menu, instead?" asked Misty.

"Nah. All the Pokémon Centers have the same menu. I have the whole thing memorized."

"Oh."

"…Hey! Look, it says here that one of the big attractions of Rouge Town is their active volcano."

"I've never heard of Rouge Town before," Misty said idly. Then she realized what he'd just said. "Brock…?"

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Um…Where is this volcano located?"

"Let's see…It says its just northwest of town."

"Do you have a compass?"

"Sure, why?"

"Just let me see it."

Brock fished his compass out of his pocket and handed it to Misty. Keeping it away from all nearby metal objects, she watched the needle spin around.

"……Brock?" she asked quietly.

"What?" he asked. She sounded like she'd hit on something big.

"You know that mountain that Ash is on?"

"Uh-huh."

"That's northwest of town."

**Charizard's Story**

**Chapter 5**

** **

"Pika…Pikachu…" Pikachu complained.

"We're gonna find it, Pikachu. Don't worry," said Ash.

"Pikachuu…"

"……You're not gonna leave too, are you?"

"Chu…Pika…"

"Oh, come one, Pikachu. We're almost at the top. I'm sure we'll find Charizard there."

"Pika?"

"Huh? Well……Then we'll go look somewhere else."

"Cha…"

They kept walking.

"…Hey, isn't it supposed to get colder as you get higher?" Ash asked.

"Pikapi?"

"I think it is……Are you getting cold, Pikachu?"

"Chu. Pika."

"No? Me neither. That's weird."

"……Chu! Pika!"

"Huh? What?"

"Pikachu!!"

Pikachu was pointing up in the sky. Ash looked. To his surprise, a Charizard was wheeling around in the sky.

"Charizard!!" he cried in relief, "I finally found you! Come on! Let's get outta here right now. Return!"

The Charizard let out a screeching cry.

"Arriiii!!"

"Huh…? Charizard! Return!" Ash tried again.

"…Zzaaaarrrrrddd!!!!" roared the Charizard and flew straight towards them at a high speed.

"PIKACHUU!!!" screamed Pikachu.

"Aaahhhh!" screamed Ash. He started running back down the mountain path.

"Chaaaarrrr!"

The Charizard slammed into the spot where they had just been, then turned its head towards them.

"Zaaaarrrrrrrrd!"

Ash screeched to a stop and whirled around.

"Charizard! What are you doing!?" he demanded.

"Charizaaaaarrrrrrrrdd!!!!!" Charizard screamed, sending monstrous flames into the sky. "Zaaaaaarrrrrd!"

"Pika…? Pikachu?" Pikachu asked in wonder.

"What?" Ash asked.

"Pika! Pika pi!!" Pikachu said in alarm.

"What!? You mean that's not my Charizard!?"

"Pi, chuu!!"

"Uh-oh……And we just made it mad…"

Charizard glared at them through crystal blue eyes. It didn't look very friendly…


	3. Chapters 6-11

**Charizard's Story**

**Chapter 6**

Charizard couldn't find what it'd seen anywhere. It had been flying for a long time, and there was still no sign of it. Where could it have gone?

Charizard yawned. Its wings were getting sore. It would have to take a rest soon. But not until it found what it was looking for. It knew that things like that weren't very easy to find. If it had stayed with Ash, that annoying little trainer, it would have lost it for sure. Not that it was doing a very good job right now, but at least its chances were higher.

It looked down at the ground below it. There were plenty of inviting places to nap, but Charizard had a mission, and it was going to stick to it. It changed its focus to the sky.

Where could it have gone? It couldn't have gotten that far ahead of it. Oh well. Charizard was bound to catch up with it sooner or later…Hopefully sooner…

Wait a sec, what is that!?

Charizard stared hard at a very unusual mountain…Hadn't it passed that already?

Oh no! It was flying in circles! That's why it couldn't find what it was looking for!

That made Charizard angry. Charizard didn't like being angry. When it was angry, it usually got the incredible urge to fight. Charizard didn't like fighting. When it fought, it usually had to fight for Ash. Ash was stupid boy who didn't know anything about proper Pokémon training. Charizard knew it would never do anything for Ash alone. There would have to be some personal benefit. Otherwise, what was the point? Even if Charizard battled, Ash would take all the credit, and what was Charizard left with? Zip. Nada. Nothing. It simply wasn't worth its time.

But…now that Charizard thought about it, it was free. Ash would never find it up here. Humans can't fly. It would never have to listen to its pathetic pleas again.

That made Charizard happy. Charizard liked being happy. That meant it wouldn't have to fight after all. Just for the fun of it, Charizard flew in a quick loop.

…Did it just see what it thought it saw?

…Impossible…

Since when did mountains breathe fire?

**Charizard's Story**

**Chapter 7**

** **

"Eh heh heh…Nice Charizard…Good Charizard……" Ash said nervously.

"Pikachu…" Pikachu added.

"Heh heh……Hope you're not hungry……Uh……I have some Pokémon food in my backpack…You can eat that if you want…"

"Chu. Pika," said Pikachu.

"I dunno, Pikachu," Ash whispered, "Do you think it's listening to us?"

"Pikachu," Pikachu shook its head.

"…I didn't think so…So now what do we do?"

"Chu…" Pikachu thought out loud, "Pika?"

"Run? No way! We can't do that. How are we going to find Charizard?"

"Pika…Pika?"

"Pikachu!" Ash said.

"Pi, chu…" Pikachu apologized.

"…Er…um…Excuse me," Ash said to the Charizard, "Maybe you've seen another Charizard around here…? …Maybe?"

"Chaaarrrrrrrrrrr!!!!" it roared, and spat fire at both of them.

"Or…maybe you haven't…"

"Pika…"

Pikachu shook the burnt fur off of itself.

"Pikachu?"

"No. I'm completely out of ideas."

"Arr?" Charizard said suddenly, perking its head up. It looked at the mountain.

"…What's it doing, Pikachu?" Ash asked quietly.

"Pikachu…" Pikachu answered.

"Zaaarrd!" it roared loudly. Then it flapped its wings and flew away. "Chaaarrrr!!"

"Hey! Where are you going!?" Ash called after it, "Wait?"

"Chu…?" Pikachu said. Then it also perked up. "Pi? Kaa??"

"What's the matter?" asked Ash.

"Pika!! Pikapi!! Pika!! Chu!!!" Pikachu babbled in a frightened voice.

"Something the matter?"

"Pii!!!"

"Whoa!!" Ash yelled as the ground beneath him shook. He clung to the wall for support. "What's going on!!?" he yelled to be heard over the rumbling.

"Pikaaa!!!!" Pikachu screamed.

That's when the summit above them started belching up lava.

"CHUU!!!" 

"Aahh!! I didn't know this was a VOLCANO!!!" Ash yelled.

"PIKAAA!!!!"

"You know, in this case, that's actually a good idea! Let's get out of here!!"

So they took off down the path, hoping to make it down with minimal catastrophes. But the lava was starting to flow, and the shaking mountain made for rough terrain. Flying and flaming rocks became abundant. Smoke started to fill the air. Ash only hoped that he wouldn't end up living up to his name.

**Charizard's Story**

**Chapter 8**

** **

Charizard flew in closer to the strange mountain. It seemed as if it had stopped breathing fire. 

As Charizard got even closer, it could hear a strange growling noise coming from inside the mountain. What kind of landform _was_ this? 

Charizard was just about to alight on the side of the mountain, when a huge burst of lava exploded from the peak of the mountain. In surprise, Charizard slipped and fell down a few feet, but wasn't seriously hurt. As it watched, the lava started to slowly make its way down the slope of the mountainside. Charizard stared in wonder. It had to find out more about this amazing occurrence.

It cautiously climbed up the side, when it heard a different sound coming from below. It glanced down, and to its complete shock, saw none other than its former trainer and his Pikachu. They were desperately trying to outrun the volcano.

Charizard switched its attention back to the mountaintop as another eruption ensued. This one was more vicious, and the lava it unleashed flowed much faster than its predecessor.

To its right, a few boulders were loosened from the mountain, and began their perilous trip downward. Charizard slowly realized that they were heading straight for Ash and Pikachu. Its first initiative was to save them, but then it thought back on what little it owed them. It kept climbing.

"Pikaa!!"

Charizard looked down again.

They had stopped just before the boulders had hit the path ahead of them. In their wake, the boulders had completely destroyed the trail.

"What will we do now?" Charizard heard Ash ask.

It growled and tried to put them out of its mind. They didn't matter to it. It was their fault they were up here anyway. Charizard just wanted to find the source of the fire.

"Pika, pikachu," Pikachu hurriedly jabbered to Ash.

"Right," he replied. He jumped over the hole in the road and kept running.

"Char!" Charizard gasped as a stream of lava suddenly appeared in front of its face. It pushed itself off of the mountainside and hovered over the lava. It then searched for a safer path up.

There weren't very many at all. The entire lip of the volcano was overflowing with intensely burning rock. Many flamed stones were shooting out randomly, and the smoke was making it very hard to see. Charizard could still breathe easily, it was a fire Pokémon after all, but it found the limited visibility annoying.

"Zarrd…" it growled at the smoke.

Meanwhile, Ash and Pikachu were still running for their lives. The going was quickly getting rougher and rougher, not to mention hotter. Lava was almost completely surrounding them, and unfortunately for them, they _weren't_ fire Pokémon. They wouldn't be able to stand the heat for much longer…

**Charizard's Story**

**Chapter 9**

** **

"Hurry up, Brock! We have to get him down from there!" Misty shouted.

"I'm running as fast as I can!" Brock shouted back.

They were both very quickly running up the mountain trail. They knew that it was an active volcano; they just didn't know _how_ active.

"He'd better get down here really fast," Misty said, "because I AM getting a new bike!"

"Misty!" said Brock, "Maybe I should send Zubat out ahead of us. It'll be a lot faster, flying."

"Yeah, good idea."

Brock stopped running.

"Go! Zubat!"

"Zu-Bat!!"

"Zubat, fly up the mountain and find Ash. Tell him that he's on a volcano and he needs to get down here right away!" ordered Brock.

"Zuuu!!"

Zubat took off up the mountain, easily leaving Misty and Brock behind.

Misty slowed down.

"You know, with Zubat carrying the message up there, we don't really need to hurry, do we?"

"I guess not…" said Brock.

There was a loud explosion and they both looked up.

"Uh-oh," said Misty.

"That's for sure," said Brock.

**Charizard's Story**

**Chapter 10**

** **

"Piikaa!!! Pika piii!!"

"Ah!"

Ash ducked as a huge rock flew over his head.

"That was close," he commented.

"Piika!!" Pikachu shouted.

"Huh?"

In front of them, another large rock tumbled down the slope. Then another one followed it…then another, and another…

"No! We already have a volcanic eruption! We don't need an avalanche to go with it!!"

"Chuuu!!!!!!"

Ash looked up as a whole load of very big rocks rolled their way towards him. Some were a unique shade of orange…

Ash decided that the best thing to do would be to run. So he did. He ran straight down the hill. He slipped a lot of times, but to his relief, he slipped down, rather that stopping.

"Piikaa!!" Pikachu screamed. The rocks were catching up with them.

"I'm going as fast as I- Aahhh!!"

Ash slid to a stop. A large pool of lava was in front of them.

"Chuuu!!!!"

Pikachu jumped off his head and blasted the advancing rocks with its Thunderbolt attack. All that was left of them were a multitude of very large pebbles. They all missed Pikachu, but Ash got a little beaten up.

"Ughh…" he groaned, "Thanks, Pikachu…"

"Pika…" Pikachu replied.

"How are we gonna get outta here?" he asked, "The lava's everywhere, and avalanches are all over the place too!"

"Pika…Pika…" Pikachu answered in defeat.

Ash picked it up.

"No, Pikachu," he said, "We're not gonna just give up. We're gonna get outta here or……or…"

"Pi?"

"Or my name isn't Ash Ketchum!"

"…Chu…"

"What do you mean my name isn't Ash Ketchum? It is!"

"Pika pi."

"Oh, shut up," he said.

**Charizard's Story**

**Chapter 11**

** **

Ash carefully climbed down the erupting volcano. He'd lost the path a long time ago, so he had to be extra careful. The heat was really intense, and by now, the smoke had started to drift downwards and finally catch up with them.

"Almost…there, Pikachu," he said, "Hang on…We're gonna make it…"

"Chu…"

Pikachu watched as a flaming rock smashed into the mountainside less than ten feet to their left. It was really starting to doubt that they would ever make it off alive. 

"Almost there," Ash said, "We're almost there…"

Pikachu had also started to worry about Ash. He had been saying that over and over again for the past five minutes. Maybe the heat was affecting his brain…Anyway, as long as they were still moving downwards, Pikachu couldn't be _too_ pessimistic.

"Pika!" it shouted suddenly.

"Huh?"

Ash stopped less than a yard from a crossing lava flow.

"Pika! Pikapi!" Pikachu yapped angrily.

"What are you talking about?" asked Ash, "I wasn't going to walk straight into that!"

"Pika…Pikachu!"

"No, I'm not losing my mind! I'm fine! And we _are_ going to get down from here!"

"Chu…Pika, chu," Pikachu said, still not believing him.

"Fine, think what you like. But you'll see. You'll be thanking me when we reach the bottom."

'Pika."


	4. Chapters 12-16

**Charizard's Story**

**Chapter 12**

All that Ash could feel was the intensity of the heat. When he bothered to open his eyes, all he could see was fire. He decided to keep them shut.

"We're almost there, Pikachu," he said, hoping Pikachu wouldn't notice that he wasn't watching where he was going. "We're gonna make it. We're almost there…"

Those words were comforting. As long as he could hear himself talk, he knew there was still a chance that they would make it down.

"We're almost there. We're almost there…We're almost there…"

Pikachu, on the other hand, didn't like Ash's chant at all. Pikachu knew that if Ash kept that up, Pikachu would be the one in charge of getting them down safely. Pikachu didn't want that, because it couldn't carry Ash.

"Pikaa. Pikachuuu…" it grumbled.

"We're almost there," said Ash.

"Chupika," Pikachu muttered.

Ash, since he wasn't watching where he was going, eventually tripped and landed flat on his face. Pikachu struggled out from under him

"Pikachu!! Pikaa!!" it shouted angrily.

Ash only moaned a reply.

"Pi…ka?" Pikachu asked, suddenly worried. "Pikachu! Pika?…Pi!! Pika!!"

Ash pushed himself up.

"…Pikachu?" he asked.

"Chu?"

"I……don't think…we'll make it……" He collapsed.

"PIKA!!!" Pikachu cried, "Pika Chuuu!!! Ka, chuu!"

**Charizard's Story**

**Chapter 13**

** **

Zubat couldn't find Ash anywhere. It had tried everywhere it could think of, but there was still no sign of them. Just to make the search harder, the airborne embers and rocks made flying very difficult. Zubat was a little resentful at Brock for sending it on this mission, but as it searched, it realized that it was a very important mission indeed, not to mention dangerous.

As Zubat thought about it, it must be a very special Pokémon to have been chosen for this mission. Brock wouldn't have sent just _any_ Pokémon to search an erupting volcano for Ash. Heh, ash was covering the whole sky. 

But enough of that, Zubat needed to stay on task. It veered around a falling rock and flew forward. It needed to find Ash so it could go back to its trainer. That was the important part. To do as the trainer instructs. Because the trainer knows best, and if you do as the trainer says, you'll become a better Pokémon. Of course, before Zubat had been caught, it hadn't believed in that at all, but having a trainer was the best thing that had ever happened to it. So it had to carry out Brock's wishes. It owed him that much at least.

As Zubat flew, using its echolocation to search for both Ash and flying obstacles, it heard something unusual through its sonar. It was a little under one and a half feet tall, and it had something zigzagging out of it…Of course! It was Pikachu! Zubat flew closer and squeaked out to Pikachu.

"Zuu! Zubatttt! Battt!"

_'Hey! Pikachu!'_

"Piika!!!" Pikachu was relieved to see another living creature. "Pikapi! Pikachuu!" Pikachu informed Zubat about Ash, and how it had to zap anything that might hurt him.

"Zuuu…" Zubat considered this, "Zubaatt!"

_'Hm…Maybe you should get him outta here.'_

"Pi, ka!" Pikachu wondered why it hadn't thought of that itself.

Pikachu grabbed one of Ash's Pokéballs and opened it up.

"Pi, ka!!"

_'Come out, Squirtle!'_

"Squirr…? Squi, squirtle?" asked Squirtle, wondering why it was so hot out here.

"Pika! Pika pi!!"

_'We're on a volcano.'_

"Squirrtle!?" Squirtle asked in surprise. "Squirtle!"

_'What!? No way!'_

"Pi, ka chu."

_'It's true. We have help Ash. He fainted.'_

"Squirtle, squirt! Squirtle!!"

_'Right! Leave it to me!'_

Pikachu turned to Zubat.

"Pikaa. Pikachu, pi. Chu."

_'Go back and tell Brock and Misty that we're coming.'_

"Zubatt!!" Zubat squeaked, then flew back to its master.

_'Right!!'_

"Pi, chu?" Pikachu asked Squirtle.

_'You got 'im?'_

"Squirt…tllle…"

_'Sort of…'_

Squirtle had lifted Ash up by the shoulders. Pikachu looked on and thought about it. Something else was needed…

"Pi…Pika!" It grabbed another Pokéball and opened it up.

_'Um…Bulbasaur!'_

"Bullba?"

_'What?'_

"Pika! Pikapikachu!"

_'Give Squirtle a hand, or a vine!'_

"Ba! Bulbasaur!"

_'Sure, why not.'_

Bulbasaur extended its vines and grabbed Ash's legs.

"Ka chuu!" Pikachu ordered.

_'Let's go!'_

"Basaur!"

_'Right!'_

"Squirtle!"

_'Right!'_

And they marched down the mountain, with Ash in tow.

**Charizard's Story**

**Chapter 14**

** **

Charizard was getting very frustrated. It had tried flying in at all kinds of angles to get to the heart of the eruption, but nothing worked.

"ZAAAAARRRRRRRDDDDD!!!!!!!!" it screamed in anger. "Chaaarrrr!!!"

It snorted. This volcano was going to pay.

"Charrr…Char-Zarrrrrrrddd!!!!!!!" With a screech, it dive-bombed the opening and dove straight through the lava.

Inside of the molten rock, Charizard dared to open its eyes, but was careful not to breathe in. For Charizard, it was simply inside of a swimming pool. Then it saw what was causing the volcano to erupt.

"Marrrrrrr!!!!!! Mag, marrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Zard?"

_'Huh?'_

"Marrrrr-! Magmar?" asked the Magmar.

_'Marrrrr-! Huh? Who are you?'_

"Charizard…"

"Magmar!!" Magmar shouted angrily, "Mar! Mag!!"

_'What are you doing in here!? Get out! Now!!'_

"Char?"

_'What?'_

"Magggg……MAGMARRR!!!!!"

Simply by willing it, Magmar created a huge surge from within the volcano that blasted Charizard out of its home.

Being encased in lava, Charizard couldn't use its wings to fly. It pried its eyes open just in time to see the ground hurtling towards it.

"Zaaaarrrrrdd!!!" it roared, just before it slammed into the earth and blacked out.

**Charizard's Story**

**Chapter 15**

"Pi! Pika, chu! Pi, ka! Pikachu!"

_'One! Two, three! One! Two! Let's go!'_

With Pikachu acting as drill sergeant, the group was making good time. Of course, every once in a while, Pikachu had to stop and blast a flying boulder or an obnoxious stream of lava. They didn't have time to slow down. They had to keep going. Ash was counting on them.

"Bulbasaur…" groaned Bulbasaur.

_'I'm tired…'_

Ash was also riding on them.

"Saur, bulba. Bulbasaur…"

_'Let's stop…'_

"Chu! Pi!" Pikachu said back.

_'No! We can't! Ash needs us!'_

"Squirtle, squirt…" Squirtle said to Bulbasaur, agreeing with Pikachu.

_'Yeah, listen to Pikachu…'_

"Saur…Bulba," Bulbasaur apologized.

_'Sorry…Forget it.'_

"Pi, ka! Pikachu! Pi! Pika…Chu!! Pi-Ka chuu!!!" Pikachu was very excited all of a sudden.

_'Two, three! Let's go! One! Two…Hey! Look over there!!!'_

"Bulba!? Bulba?"

_'What!? What is it?'_

"Squirtle?"

_'Yeah?'_

"Piikaaa…!"

_'We made it…!'_

Grass. Trees. A blue sky. Things that Pikachu had been so long without. 

"Pika pii!!" Pikachu shouted happily and started walking faster, then broke into a run.

_'Yay!!'_

"Bulba, sauurr!!" yelled Bulbasaur.

_'Hey, wait up!!'_

"Squirt! Squirttllle!!" Squirtle agreed.

_'Yeah! Pikachu!!'_

They both ended up running to try to keep up with Pikachu, even though that was impossible.

In the distance, two very human figures were approaching. One of them spotted the group and started running and shouting.

"Heyy!! Hey! Pikachuu!!"

"Wait for me!" yelled the other one.

Pikachu stopped and looked at them.

"Pi?" it asked. Then it recognized them. "PIIKA!!" it shouted. "Ka chuu!" it called to the other two stragglers, "Pikachu!!"

_'Who's there?…BROCK!! Come on, it's Brock and Misty! Come on!!'_

"Squirt!"

_'Wait!'_

"Saurr!"

_'Hold on!'_

They rushed to catch up with Pikachu. Finally, the two groups met. 

"Pikachu!" said Brock, "You're okay!"

"Kachu!" Pikachu said happily.

Misty smiled. Then she saw the other two Pokémon.

"Hey! It's Ash!" she said in surprise.

"Huh?" said Brock. He looked at Ash. "What happened to him!?"

"Squirt!"

"Basaurr…"

Squirtle and Bulbasaur dropped Ash at the same time. He groaned a little, but didn't wake up.

"He must've fainted from the heat or the smoke," said Misty.

"Probably both," said Brock. He glanced up. Squirtle had sat down wearily, and Bulbasaur looked ready to take a snooze. "Looks like we've gotta take him from here."

"No way!" said Misty, "I'm not carrying him!" 

Brock sighed. Misty was just a constant reminder that not _all_ girls were cute, or beautiful, or even considerate.

**Charizard's Story**

**Chapter 16**

** **

Pikachu, Bulbasaur, and Squirtle were sort of lagging behind.

"Pi…" Pikachu sighed.

"Squirt, squirt," said Squirtle.

_'I'm so glad we got off of that mountain.'_

"Sauurr…Bul, baa…"

_'Yeah…I was starting to worry…'_

"Chu."

_'Well, we're off now.'_

Pikachu took in the sights of a non-volcanic area. At least, it tried to. The volcano was still right next to them. 

"Chuu…" it sighed.

"Bulbasaur?" asked Bulbasaur.

_'What's the matter?'_

"Chu? Pi…Pikachu."

_'Huh? Nothing…There's nothing the matter.'_

"Bulba…" Bulbasaur decided not to go further on the subject.

_'Fine then…'_

"Squirtle, squirtlesquirtle?" Squirtle asked.

_'Isn't the air so fresh, and the land so beautiful, and the grass so green?'_

"Chu!" Pikachu agreed.

_'Yeah!'_

"Bulba…Bulba, bulbasaur," Bulbasaur said dreamily.

_'Yeah…There's nothing better than green grass. It just makes me feel so happy. I get this feeling of nostalgia…'_

"Ka! Chu…" Pikachu said in annoyance. Bulbasaur was always a bit dreamy when the subject of grass was brought up.

_'Shush! We don't care…'_

"Squiiirrt!" Squirtle yawned and stretched. "Squirt, squirtle, squirt."

_'……Glad we don't have to carry Ash anymore.'_

"Pika…" Pikachu was starting to worry about Ash again. It hoped he was okay. It decided to ask the others. "Pikachu?"

_'Ash…'_

"Ba, saur," Bulbasaur said dismissively.

_'He's fine.'_

"Squirtle, squirtle," said Squirtle.

_'Yeah, you don't need to worry about him.'_

"Chu…"

_'Yeah……'_

An orange light in the distance caught Pikachu's attention.

"Ka…Chuuu???" it asked.

_'Huh…What's that???'_

"Squirtle?" Squirtle asked curiously.

_'What?'_

"Pika. Pikachu…" Pikachu said, pointing at the light.

_'There. Some kind of light…'_

"Sauurrr?" asked Bulbasaur, staring at the light. It shrugged. "Bulbasaurr."

_'A light?…Who cares?'_

"Pika!" said Pikachu, "Pikapika!"

_'I do! I'm gonna go see what it is!'_

"Squirtle, squirrtle!" said Squirtle, standing up.

_'I'll come too!'_

Pikachu and Squirtle marched off to investigate. Bulbasaur watched them go with one eye open. It didn't care about some stupid light. It would just take a nap right here and wait for them to come back…It shivered. 

"Bulbasauuurrr!" it called, racing after them. Now that it thought about it, it really didn't want them to leave it alone with the volcano.

_'Hey! Don't leave me!'_


	5. Chapters 17-21

**Charizard's Story**

**Chapter 17**

"Pika?" Pikachu said in amazement.

_'Charizard?'_

"Tlllee…" Squirtle agreed.

_'Yeah…'_

"Bul, ba! Bulba, saur!" Bulbasaur said, panting. It had just caught up with them.

_'Hey! Guys! Why'd you leave me?!'_

"Pikachu…" Pikachu said to Bulbasaur.

_'Look…'_

Bulbasaur looked at the source of the light.

"Bulbasaur!!?" it asked in surprise.

_'Charizard!!?'_

Squirtle reached forward and tapped Charizard on the head. There was no response.

"Squirtle, squiirtle," said Squirtle. 

_'He's just like Ash.'_

"Pikachu…" Pikachu said. Squirtle had to be right.

_'Hmm…'_

"Basaur? Bulba?" asked Bulbasaur, hoping the others would have an answer.

_'Well? What do we do?'_

"Pikachu," Pikachu said, motioning for them to step back. They did. Pikachu turned to Charizard. "Pi, ka, CHUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!" it yelled, zapping it with an electric shock.__

"Ch-ZAAAAAAARRRRRRRRDDDD!!!!!!" roared Charizard, snapping awake instantly.

"Pika?"

_'You okay?'_

"Arrr!" Charizard shouted angrily, "Chaaarr! Izaarrrdd!!"

_'No! Why'd you do that!? I was fine!!'_

"Pika, pika," Pikachu replied, "Pikachu."

_'You were unconscious. I just woke you up.'_

Charizard huffed, and pretended as if it didn't owe Pikachu a thank you.

"Squirtle, squirtle," said Squirtle, "Squirtle, squirt?"

_'Pikachu said Ash was looking for you. Where'd you go?'_

"…Zard."

_'…That's none of your business.'_

"Pika pika," said Pikachu, "Pika, chu?"

_'Well, I think it is. What happened to you?'_

"…Arr…"

_'…Nothing…'_

"Kachu?"

_'You sure?'_

"Char! Char, zard!"

_'Of course! Buzz off!'_

"Pi?"

_'Huh?'_

"Squuirrrtle," said Squirtle. It turned to Bulbasaur. "Squirt?" it asked.

_'Um…Do you know what's goin' on?'_

"Bul…Bulbasaur. Bulbabulba."

_'Uh…No. I don't have any idea.'_

Pikachu looked up at Charizard.

"Piika…Pikachuu?"

_'Charizard…Why don't you come back with us?'_

Charizard snorted.

"Ka!" Pikachu said angrily, "Pi ka chu."

_'Charizard! We risked our lives for you, you should at least say something intelligible.'_

"Zzaarrdd…" grumbled Charizard. It eyed Pikachu. Finally, it decided it might as well tell them a little. "Char, zard. Charzard char."

_'……I was looking for something. Something special.'_

"Pika?" Pikachu asked in surprise.

_'Really?'_

"Bul, ba!" said Bulbasaur.

_'Must've been _really_ special for you to run away like that!'_

Charizard nodded. "Charizaard…" Charizard stared upwards dreamily. "Ch-aaarrr……Izz!?"

_'Very special indeed……It……What!?'_

"Pika!?" asked Pikachu.

_'What!?'_

Charizard didn't answer. There it was. Again. "Zarrr…" it breathed.

_'I found it…'_

"Pikachuu!!" Pikachu demanded.

_'Tell us what it is!!'_

Charizard glanced down at the tiny electric mouse. "Zard. Charrizaarrd!!"

_'Forget it. I'm leaving!!'_

It spread its wings and prepared to fly away again.

"Pikka!!" cried Pikachu. It leapt onto Charizard's back before it could fly away.

_'Wait!!'_

"Squiirtle!!" yelled Squirtle, grabbing onto one of Charizard's legs.

_'Hey!!'_

"Bul!" gasped Bulbasaur, seeing that it was going to be left alone again. "Bulbasauurrrr!" It used its vine whip and grabbed onto Squirtle.

_'Guys!…I'm coming!'_

At first, Charizard tried to shake them off, but as it realized that wasn't going to happen, it focused only on catching what it had seen in the sky. This time, it was going to catch it.

**Charizard's Story**

**Chapter 18**

** **

It watched as the volcano gradually settled down. That was good. That meant Magmar had decided to relax again. The human and the Pikachu had probably disturbed it. The fact that it had attacked the human and the Pikachu had also probably disturbed Magmar. Charizard made a mental note to be more careful about diving into that mountain.

Charizard really loved to fly. It spent a lot of time showing off to Magmar, who obviously couldn't. 

Magmar was like a parent to Charizard. It had taken care of it since it was a Charmeleon who had gotten lost and somehow managed to climb to the top of the mountain. Magmar had been out hunting, and at first, it had tried to attack Charmeleon. Luckily for Charmeleon, Magmar had been pretty lonely lately, and the thought of having another fire Pokémon to talk to was just what Magmar wanted. So it had adopted Charmeleon, and they lived on the top of the volcano together. Being so close to a pit of lava and magma had caused Charmeleon to grow stronger rapidly, and after a while, it evolved into Charizard.

Charizard scanned the ash that covered the ground below. It was times like this when Charizard was really glad it could fly. It sometimes wondered if Magmar knew what it was causing by throwing those fits. Charizard smiled. It was probably better not to mention it to Magmar. It was Magmar's way of releasing tension. Just before an eruption, Magmar was usually very grumpy and not much fun to talk to at all, but afterwards, it would apologize for the way it was behaving before and be very easygoing for the rest of the day. 

Charizard looked up. It had thought it'd heard something. It sounded almost like a roar…

What the…?

…What was _that_!?

Flying towards it was what looked like another Charizard. There was something very odd about this one though. It had something blue and green hanging from its left leg, and there was something small and yellow riding on its back.

Charizard raised its altitude to get a better view of that weird Charizard. It noticed that after it had raised its altitude, the other Charizard raised its altitude too. Was it following it?

Charizard decided to test it out. It flapped upwards a little more, waited for the other one to do the same, then suddenly plunged into a steep dive. When it was just ten feet away from turning itself into a Charizard pancake, it spread its wings and caught the air, slowing it down immensely. It gently fluttered to the ground, then looked up to see what the other one was doing.

It seemed to have been really surprised. It sort of flew around in small circles, then dove after it.

Charizard laughed out loud. This other Charizard was really funny. Charizard decided it would really push this other Charizard to its limits.

Charizard ran into the forest.

**Charizard's Story**

**Chapter 19**

** **

"Z-ARR!" growled Charizard.

The other Charizard had seen it! Why was it running away?

"Pi…Pika pika…"

_'Charizard…I hope you know what you're doing…'_

Charizard grunted. Why did Pikachu & friends have to tag along? Couldn't they see it was busy?

"ZARD!"

Charizard dove in pursuit of its target. It had ran into the forest…on foot. Why? What was wrong with this Charizard? When you have the power to fly, what point is there in running?

Charizard crashed through the canopy, disturbing branches, trees, and its passengers.

"Bulbaa!"

_'Aahh!'_

"Squirt-!"

_'Yikes-!'_

"Pi, chuu!"

_'Watch it!'_

"Chariz. Zard!" Charizard snapped. Why did they have to follow it? 

_'Shut up. Just get off!'_

Charizard landed heavily, then shook off Squirtle and Bulbasaur. Pikachu was more difficult.

"Pika! Pikachu!" it protested.

_'No! I'm not letting you run off again!'_

"Izzaaarrdd!!" Charizard angrily breathed out a blast of fire, scorching the nearby trees.

_'Get off!!'_

"Pi…ka…" Pikachu said, shaking its head.

_'No…I can't…'_

Charizard growled. It would make sure that Pikachu would pay. In the meantime, it ran after the other Charizard. It had left an easy to follow trail with its huge bulk.

"Squirt! Squirtlle!" called Squirtle.

_'Wait! Pikachu!'_

"Bulbasaauurr!!" cried Bulbasaur. They were going to be left behind.

_'Charizard!!'_

"Squirtle! Squirtlesquirtle!" Squirtle said to Bulbasaur.

_'Come on! We can't lose them!'_

"Bullba…" agreed Bulbasaur.

_'That's for sure…'_

They ran after the Charizards and Pikachu.

**Charizard's Story**

**Chapter 20**

** **

Charizard ran as fast as it could, with Pikachu still clinging to its back. Charizard would not give up. It would not give up. It would not…

"ZARD!"

_'BOO!'_

Charizard yelped in surprise and jumped back.

"Pii! Ka!" The force knocked Pikachu to the ground.

_'Ahh! Ouch!'_

The other Charizard had appeared out of nowhere. Now it was giggling at Charizard's fright.

"Zzrr…" Charizard growled.

"Char!" said the other one, "Charizard!?"

_'Hey! Aren't you following me!?_

"Izard?" Charizard asked in surprise, "Char…" It thought about that.

_'Huh?…Um…'_

"Squiiirrtt!" called Squirtle.

_'Charizard!'_

"Bulbasaauurr!!" said Bulbasaur.

_'Pikachu!!'_

"Pi? Pika!" Pikachu said in relief. It was good to see its friends catching up.

_'Squirtle and Bulbasaur? I'm glad you made it!'_

Squirtle skidded to a stop when it saw that there were two Charizards.

"Squi…Squirt, squirtle?!" it exclaimed.

_'Huh…How come there's two of them?!'_

Bulbasaur stopped too. "Bul…? Bulba??"

_'But…? How'd we catch up to it??'_

"Pi! Pikachu!"

_'It jumped out the bushes! It said "Boo!"'_

Ash's Charizard glared at them. It motioned for them to leave, and even blew some threatening flames out of its nostrils.

"Pikachu…" Pikachu said, disappointed.

_'Aw…'_

"Squirtle, squirtle?" Squirtle asked Pikachu.

_'Why? What's wrong?'_

"Pikaa…" Pikachu sighed.

_'Nothing…'_

**Charizard's Story**

**Chapter 21**

** **

Ash's Charizard turned to the other Charizard.

"Zard?" it asked.

_'You okay?'_

"Char! Char, zard!" it replied accusingly.

_'No! You've been following me!'_

Charizard was taken aback. It hadn't expected this other Charizard to be so rude.

"Izz? Zard?" it asked.

_'What? What's wrong with that?'_

The other Charizard snorted fire.

"Char, char. Charizard." It crossed its arms and looked away. 

_'Shouldn't follow people. It's not nice.'_

Charizard seemed to recall that pose as being very familiar…Of course! Charizard had done that just before it had flown away from Ash. 

Ash…That little…

Charizard pushed those thoughts out of its mind.

"Arr…izard?"

_'I'm sorry…Forgive me?'_

The other Charizard looked bored. It gave Charizard a questioning look.

"Char, char?"

_'Do you like flying?'_

"Zard!?" Charizard asked in surprise. Then it regained its composure. "Char……Charizard." It hoped that would please the other Charizard.

_'What!?…Um……Of course.'_

The other Charizard sighed as if disappointed.

"………Charizard?" it asked finally.

_'………Do you have a trainer?'_

Charizard was suddenly very nervous. Why would this Charizard care whether or not it had a trainer? Why would that matter? And…Charizard didn't even know itself. _Was_ Ash its trainer? It never listened to that human anyway. Besides, wouldn't running away make him _not_ its trainer?

Charizard thought those things over. Was Ash its trainer…? Was Ash its trainer??

Charizard shrugged.

"Char! Charizard!" the other Charizard said decisively.

_'You can't say that! You either have one or you don't!'_

"Rrr…" Charizard thought out loud. Then it came up with a good come back. "Charizard!!"

_'Um……What about you!!?'_

The other Charizard blinked. Did it _look_ like it had a trainer?

"Zard," it replied.

_'No.'_

"Char…" Charizard was disappointed. Was it the only Pokémon in the world who didn't know whether or not it had a trainer?

_'Oh…'_

"……Char charizard?" asked the other Charizard. It was taking way too long for Charizard to answer its question.

_'……What's the matter? You know, don't you?'_

"Arr……" It glanced over at where Pikachu and the others were hiding in the bushes. "Char, zard."

_'Uh………Hold on a sec.'_

It turned and pulled the leaves aside. Pikachu, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur stared up at it.

"Charizard?" it asked.

_'Is Ash my trainer?'_

Squirtle and Bulbasaur groaned. That was the stupidest question they'd ever heard.

Pikachu just kept staring at Charizard. Why would Charizard doubt that? Why _wouldn't _Ash be its trainer?

"Pikapi…" it answered quietly.

_'Of course he is, Charizard…'_

Charizard stared back. Pikachu was so solemn. It just had this look that it _had_ to be right. That Ash _had_ to be its trainer.

Charizard stepped back nervously.

It turned to face the other Charizard, who had been waiting impatiently while that was going on.

"Char?" it asked, hoping that this time Charizard would have an intelligent answer.

_'Well?'_

"Char…" Charizard began, but it didn't know how to finish. What was the right answer?

_'I…'_

Charizard stared at the ground.

There was only one way to find out.


	6. Chapters 22-24

**Charizard's Story**

**Chapter 22**

As Brock, Misty, Ash, and Onix entered the Pokémon Center, Brock noticed they were missing a few people.

"Hey! Where's Pikachu, Bulbasaur and Squirtle?" he asked.

Misty looked around. "Hey…Where'd they go?"

Brock groaned. "That's what I just said."

"Do you think they're still at the volcano?" asked Misty.

"How would I know?"

"Nixxx," Onix complained.

"Right," said Brock, "Let's get Ash to our room, and then we can go back and look for them."

"Or you could send out Zubat again," suggested Misty.

"Uh…I don't think so. Zubat needs to rest. It's already tired out from looking for them on the volcano."

"…Oh."

"OONNN!" Onix roared angrily.

"Sorry. Sorry," said Brock, "Come on, Misty. Let's go find our room."

They found their room, put Ash on a bed, and then Brock recalled Onix.

"Where do you think they are?" said Misty.

"…Do you want to go look for them or not?"

"I…" She glanced over at Ash. "Do you think he'll be okay?"

"He'll be fine. Do you want to look for them or not?"

"Um…"

In the time that it took for her to consider this, Ash started to wake up. He groaned and rolled over.

"Ash!?" cried Misty. She jumped to his bed and watched him anxiously. "Hey! Ash! Are you okay? Wake up!"

Brock stood by her side. "That's not gonna help."

"I don't care! He'd better be all right! He still owes me a bike!"

Brock sighed. Of course. There was no way she could have actually been worried about Ash.

Ash moaned a little more, but he was finally coming around. He blinked groggily to see Misty and Brock staring down at him.

"…Huh? Where am I?"

"We're in the Pokémon Center," Misty replied cheerfully, "You owe Pikachu, Bulbasaur and Squirtle your life!"

"Ugh…What'd they do? How'd I get down here?…Where are they!?"

"Uh…" Misty looked at Brock.

"Uh…heh heh…um…uh…We don't know, Ash."

"Don't know what?" He sat up.

"Uh, what he's trying to say is, that we don't know where Pikachu, Bulbasaur and Squirtle are," said Misty.

"What!? Then how'd they get me down here? Didn't you see them? Where did they go!?"

"Geez! Calm down," said Misty, "We have everything under control!" She looked at Brock. "…Right?"

"Uh……We do?"

"Ugh!" Misty groaned in disgust. "You're supposed to play along! We have to let him think everything's taken care of, so he won't bother us while we figure out what to do!! Urgh…"

Ash listened with growing anxiety.

"You mean you don't know where they are…?"

Misty gritted her teeth. "There's no use hiding it now," she said under her breath. Loudly she said, "That's right! We have no idea where your Pokémon are!"

Ash tried to jump out of bed. "Then we have to go find them!" he yelled.

Misty pushed him back. "No way. You're not going anywhere. Leave this to us. Right, Brock?"

"Right. You still need to rest up. We'll take care of it."

Ash narrowed his eyes. "…I'm fine now! Let me help! They're _my_ Pokémon!"

"Sorry. No can do," said Misty. She turned to Brock. "Let's go, Brock."

He nodded. The two of them left the room.

"Wait!!" Ash stood up. "Come back here!……Don't…don't go……"

When it was obvious they weren't coming back. Ash sat down on the bed.

Everyone was abandoning him…Charizard, Misty, Brock…Bulbasaur and Squirtle…Even Pikachu……

He shook his head and tried not to think about it. Just don't think about it…

Hopelessly, he lay down again and felt sorry for himself.

**Charizard's Story**

**Chapter 23**

Misty and Brock stood outside.

"Do you think we should go back to the volcano?" asked Misty.

"Sounds good to me," answered Brock.

They walked in that direction. They had gone about a block, when they noticed a warm-colored flying figure heading in their direction.

"Hey…Do you see that?" said Misty.

Brock looked up. "Hm. If I didn't know better, I'd say that was a Charizard.

Misty squinted to see better.

"Hey!" she shouted, "It _is_ a Charizard! Ha! This is our lucky day!"

Brock looked doubtful. "It is?"

"Shut up, Brock," Misty said off-handedly, "Maybe that Charizard belongs to Ash! Won't he be happy?"

"Uh…Since when did you care whether or not he was happy?"

Misty decided to ignore him. She waved her free arm around and shouted loudly.

"Hey! Charizard!! Over here! We're down here!"

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" asked Brock.

Charizard looked down. The girl. And the boy with the invisible eyes. What did they want? 

"Pikapii!!" Pikachu shouted back at them.

Charizard groaned in disgust. How could anyone be happy to see a human? They were weak, pathetic, and stupid creatures. How Charizard had let the boy, Ash, trick it into letting itself be captured as a Charmander, Charizard really didn't know.

No…That wasn't true. It knew why. The boy had said that he would take care of it. He had said that they would be friends.

He was a liar.

Charizard had only ended up being used. Battles! Ha! What were they worth? Fame? For the trainer, yes, but for the Pokémon? Nothing. Maybe it was supposed to feel grateful that it had helped the trainer achieve something grand. But that couldn't be it. Charizard never felt that way. Ash was a trickster. A cheat. A selfish, power-hungry brat of a human. Charizard would never bow down to him. It would never succumb to the human's wishes. Never.

Charizard slowly circled down to the ground. Just before it landed, it searched the skies for the other Charizard. It was nowhere to be seen. Charizard smiled. The other Charizard was afraid of humans. It didn't want them to try to capture it. Charizard understood all too well. To allow oneself to be captured by a human would be the ultimate disgrace. It would admit the human's superiority.

Charizard quickly tried to convince itself that Ash wasn't its superior. After all, if he had actually tried to battle Charizard when it was a Charmander, there was no way he would've won………Right?

Misty approached them cautiously.

"Hey! You're all right!" she said.

"Togeprrriiii!" Togepi exclaimed, feeling its mother's happiness.

Charizard looked at the pair. Disgusting. When Togepi grew older, Charizard would have to explain to it that a Pokémon having a human mother was just impossible. It was wrong.

Pikachu, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur jumped off of Charizard's back.

"Piikaa!!" Pikachu said happily.

"Squirt. Squirtle," Squirtle said, relieved to be back on the ground.

"Bul, ba!" Bulbasaur said, completely agreeing with Squirtle.

Misty grinned. "Ash is really worried about you guys. You'd better go see him right away."

Charizard looked at her, trying to pull the real meaning out of her words. It was impossible, right? A human couldn't be worried about a Pokémon……At least…

There was no way……Ash could be worried about…Charizard?

**Charizard's Story**

**Chapter 24**

Ash sat up when he heard the click of the doorknob turning. They hadn't been gone very long, though it seemed like forever. Misty's face appeared behind the opening door.

"Hey Ash," she said, "guess what we found…"

"Pikachu!?" he said, jumping up.

"PIIKAA!!!" Pikachu cried, dashing out from behind Misty and into Ash's open arms.

Ash squeezed it tight.

"You okay, Pikachu?" he asked.

"Piika. Pikachu?"

"Ha! Yeah, I'm fine."

The rest of the gang came in, with Charizard last.

"Squuirrtle!" yelled Squirtle, starting a group hug.

"Bullba!" exclaimed Bulbasaur, it joined in too.

Ash kneeled down and returned them the favor.

"Hi guys. I'm glad you're alright," he said.

"Squirtle, squirt," said Squirtle.

"Bulbasaur."

Ash laughed.

Charizard stared in amazement. There was no way……No way…

It turned and scoffed. Why had it come back? Why had it had any doubt? Ash wasn't its trainer. He never had, and never would be.

"Charizard?" Ash asked quietly. He had just noticed the large fire lizard.

"Pi…"

Ash stood up.

"…You came back."

Charizard slowly turned its head. It looked Ash over carefully.

He wasn't much of a human. Shrimpy little thing, really. Not worthy of any spectacular title. 

He was staring right back at Charizard. Why was he doing that? He was making it nervous.

Charizard shifted uneasily.

Ash cautiously took a step forward.

Charizard glanced up. What was he doing? Trying to approach? What for? He couldn't possibly hurt it.

"Arrr…" Charizard growled in a low tone.

"Careful, Ash," warned Misty.

"I know what I'm doing," Ash replied, "It's _my_ Pokémon, after all…And we're friends."

What was he talking about? Friends? That wasn't true. Not anymore. Maybe Charizard had let itself be deceived while it was a Charmander, but it wasn't going to be fooled anymore. It knew better now. It was older…wiser…It knew better…

Ash took a few more steps.

"Charizard?" he asked again.

Charizard let two streams of smoke escape its nostrils. If this human couldn't read the warning signs, he was going to deserve the consequences.

Ash looked at Misty and Brock.

"You think we could have a private moment, here?" he asked.

Misty was shocked. "Are you sure that's a good idea!? Charizard isn't the friendliest Pokémon…You could get hurt!"

"I'll be fine," Ash said dismissively, "Well?"

"……We'll be in the other room. If anything happens, yell, and we'll be right over. Got it?" said Brock.

"That won't be necessary, but okay."

"You sound pretty confident…Good luck…" said Misty. She and Brock went into the other room.


End file.
